Pensioners’ incomes continue to rise despite the recession, says IFS

June 20, 2013

UK pensioners are continuing to see their incomes rise, despite the ongoing financial crisis, a leading think-tank has claimed.

According to a new study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the incomes of those in their 60s and 70s have almost doubled over the last 30 years, a trend which has continued during the recession.

The over 60s is the only age group to have become better off since the start of the recession, with median incomes thought to have grown by 2-3% between 2007/08 and 2011/12.

Conversely, individuals in their twenties saw their incomes decline by 12% during this period – the largest fall of any age group.

‘The face of poverty has become much younger during recent decades,’ said IFS economist David Phillips. ‘These figures confirm that it is young people who have suffered most as a result of the recent recession and who are now at risk of falling further behind’.

In the sixties and seventies pensioners were seven or eight times more likely to live in poverty when compared to working age adults, although this gap has now shrunk significantly.

However, Michelle Mitchell, Age UK’s charity director general, said: ‘While it is true that some older people have seen their incomes rise in recent years, there are still huge inequalities prevalent within the older generation as well as the general population as a whole’.